Twin Doctors Abdur-Rahman Race to Better Themselves

Jamil Abdur-Rahman and Idries Abdur-Rahman aren’t just another twin set of handsome faces.

The 36-year-old twin brothers from Chicago are both OB/GYN physicians and recent contestants on “The Amazing Race.”

The pair do more than dispense health advice. They have had to practice what they preached in order to get ready for the grueling competition.

They stepped up their running routine, lifted weights and made other adjustments and prepared to push themselves out of their comfort zones.

The brothers were eliminated in the second stage of the race in February, but said they would not hesitate to do it again.

“We would do it again in a heartbeat. For the first 24 to 48 hours after we got home, that’s all I was thinking about,” Jamil Abdur-Rahman told The Hollywood Reporter.

“[We’re moving, so] I didn’t even unpack my bag, and I told my mom I was going to leave it packed so one day I could do it again and redeem myself,” said brother Idries.

Both men said they were pretty fit before they were selected for the show, but they did tweak their routines.

“We were always pretty physically fit — we’re in the gym every day, and I do taekwondo,” Idries Abdur-Rahman told the Rush University Medical Center blog.

“One thing I would try to do was mental brain games late at night or early in the morning, just to get my mind used to being functional on little sleep. My brother and I took swimming lessons because we’re not the best in the water, and I took some stick shift classes — I hadn’t driven stick in quite some time.”

Jamil Abdur-Rahman said he typically runs 3 or 4 miles a day and his brother competed in a 15k (a little over 9 miles) several days before they left for the race.

Both men believe they are better for the experience.

“It sounds corny,” Jamil said, “but I think an experience like that almost makes you a better person. You realize that you had an opportunity to do something that most people will never get to do and so it makes you more appreciative. I don’t know if it’ll make us better doctors — maybe by default if we’re better people, we’ll be better doctors — but I’d say better people more than anything else.”